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Near and Far

A disciple once asked the Baal Shem: "Why is it that one who clings to God and knows he is close to Him, sometimes experiences a sense of interruption and remoteness?"

The Baal Shem explained: "When a father sets out to teach his little son to walk, he stands in front of him and holds his two hands on either side of the child, so that he cannot fall, and the boy goes towards his father between his father's hands. But the moment he is close to his father, (the father) moves away a little, and holds his hands farther apart, and he does this over and over, so that the child may learn to walk."

A disciple once asked the Baal Shem: "Why is it that one who clings to God and knows he is close to Him, sometimes experiences a sense of interruption and remoteness?"

The Baal Shem explained: "When a father sets out to teach his little son to walk, he stands in front of him and holds his two hands on either side of the child, so that he cannot fall, and the boy goes towards his father between his father's hands. But the moment he is close to his father, (the father) moves away a little, and holds his hands farther apart, and he does this over and over, so that the child may learn to walk."